In the construction of traverse rod assemblies, a continuing problem for many years has been in the hand labor required for assembling the various components and particularly for assembling the sliders or hangers into the rod unit. The problem exists and has existed both in the factory assembly of pre-cut traverse rods as well as in the workroom assembly of cut-to-measure traverse rods. This has required both hand manipulation to insert the hangers individually into the traverse rod and accurate counting thereof by the workman to make sure that the proper number of hangers is inserted into a given traverse rod. Since the number of such hangers will vary with the length of the traverse rod, this is a frequent source of error in both types of assembly procedures with consequent customer irritation.
This problem has long been recognized and various solutions have been offered for it. One such solution has been to mold a plurality of hangers in a single piece with a small connecting web therebetween in order that such hangers could be handled as a single piece. However, this requires breaking apart of such hangers after they are installed into the traverse rod and this is not only inconvenient and time consuming but is sometimes not carried out completely, again resulting in customer irritation. Many hangers and/or traverse rods associated therewith are not, because of their construction, adaptable to the arrangement of hangers in preassembled groups and, hence, for the majority of presently known designs of traverse rods and hangers for same, the problem above outlined continues to exist with the consequent disadvantages as mentioned above.
Accordingly, the principal objects of the invention include:
1. To provide a cooperative traverse rod hanger and retainer design for enabling groups of hangers to be held by a simple retainer and capable while being so held of being inserted by virtually a single motion into operative position within a traverse rod with the retainer being then quickly and easily removable at any desired subsequent time.
2. To provide an arrangement, as aforesaid, wherein said retainer is sufficiently inexpensive as to constitute a throwaway item when removed.
3. To provide an arrangement, as aforesaid, in which said retainer is of sufficiently simple and inexpensive construction that it need not be removed following insertion of the hangers into the traverse rod but instead may remain in position until removed by the purchaser.
4. To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, in which said retainer is a simple molded strip with openings provided therein.
5. To provide an arrangement, as aforesaid, in which said retainer, following insertion of the hangers into the traverse rod, remains outside of the traverse rod and is accordingly removable from the hangers by a simple short motion thereof in a direction away from the traverse rod.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this type upon reading the following specification and inspection of the accompanying drawings.